


the more i think of him, the more i look like him

by reversustenebris



Series: MCYT Oneshots [2]
Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Fluff, I just want them to be happy, Mild Hurt/Comfort, no romance here if i see u being weird youll die by my sword
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-11
Updated: 2020-09-11
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:20:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,571
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26401045
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reversustenebris/pseuds/reversustenebris
Summary: He hops down off of the wall back onto the castle roof. “I should probably get back to L’Manberg before Wilbur, or, heaven forbid, Tommy, notices I’ve been gone.”Eret hums a response. “Give me a moment, I’ll walk you back. Go down and get your things, yeah?” Tubbo nods before hustling to the nearest staircase.“Scary kid,” Eret whispers to himself with a laugh. “Reminds me of myself.”-------Tubbo gets some help from his surrogate sibling.
Relationships: Toby Smith | Tubbo & Eret (Video Blogging RPF)
Series: MCYT Oneshots [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1920349
Comments: 20
Kudos: 550





	the more i think of him, the more i look like him

All Tubbo wants, really, is a fucking break.

He comes to this realization as he’s running faster than he has in months down the creaking wooden path of the server, the heavy sound of boots hitting the wood close behind him. A now-empty water bucket is tucked under his left arm, a sword that seems quite useless now held tightly in his right hand. 

Flooding Sapnap’s property was probably a bad idea, sure, but he’d been spending too much time with Fundy, and he thought it was really funny at the time. He feels a whoosh of air swipe past his shoulder as a glowing sword barely misses catching him in the arm. He doesn’t think it’s very funny anymore.

“Come here, Tubbo!” Sapnap huffs, barely missing again. “I’m not going to actually hurt you, I promise!”

Tubbo hears the click of a crossbow being loaded behind him, and he does a shaky jump to the right edge of the path just in time to avoid a bolt catching him in the ankle. “I don’t think I believe you!”

Sapnap loading that crossbow gave him a few extra feet of lead, but he feels himself getting exhausted, and he knows that lead isn’t going to last. The grass underneath the wooden path is quickly replaced with water before Tubbo is running through a room, hopping over crafting tables and stairs before managing to kick the door shut behind him on the other side. The loud bang and sudden shouts from behind him makes him think he might have just earned himself a couple of extra seconds.

However, those seconds seem worthless when he looks forward to see nothing but a dead end, stone walls blocking any easy chance of escape. He reaches the end of the path, whirling around to back up against the bricks, shield held in front of him and sword pointed forwards. He ignores the shake in his hands.

“C’mon Tubbo,” Sapnap calls as he steps forwards, standing just far enough away that Tubbo’s sword doesn’t reach. “You don’t need to worry, man. You’ll just respawn!” He takes a small step forward. Tubbo’s shield inches higher up, hiding him even more. “That water’s gonna be a pain to clean up. An eye for an eye, y’know?” 

Tubbo sees a sword raise above the edge of his shield, and he braces himself, closing his eyes and steadying his shield the best he can. He has no gear on, really. These hits are gonna hurt, and there’s nothing he can do about it.

His eyes are still clenched shut when he hears a snapping sound above him, followed shortly by the sound of metal clanging against the ground. He tentatively lowers his shield to peek over its edge.

Sapnap is sprawled on the ground in front of him, a dent in the side of his helmet, and an arrow with a busted tip lying on the ground beside his head. He’s not dead, Tubbo can see him breathe, but probably definitely dazed. Helmets aren’t great at stopping arrow-related concussions. Tubbo stands back up to his full height and slings his shield out of the way, not knowing what exactly to do other than stare. Does he help him? Run? Steal his things while he can?

The thud of something landing heavily on the grass a few feet away snaps him out of his stupor. He instinctively reaches for his shield as his head whips around, but stops at the sight of red silk and shining gold.

“...Eret?” Tubbo calls out.

Eret ignores him in favor of walking up to Sapnap, pulling out a sword from a sheath hidden at his side and leveling it under Sapnap’s chin, who blinks a couple of times before managing to focus on the man in front of him.

“Whatcha’ doing?” Eret asks. Sapnap makes a move to stand. The sword inches closer to his throat.

“We were just messing around, dude.” Sapnap huffs.

Tubbo hums disapprovingly from behind Eret. “Try again?” Eret asks.

“Well, I was just messing around.” Sapnap grumbles as he tries once again to stand up, Eret finally giving in and letting him to his feet.

Eret doesn’t look convinced. “Get the fuck off my property, dude.” The words are barely out of his mouth before Sapnap is gone back down the wooden path, but not without a raised middle finger as a goodbye.

“Asshole!” Eret calls before turning around. “You okay, Tubbo?”

Tubbo can feel his heartbeat steady, but the aching in muscles from running is hard to ignore. “‘m tired, Eret.”

It’s not long before a steady hand is on his shoulder, guiding him into the sprawling castle he had previously been pressed up against. The air is a lot cooler inside, and he’s thankful for any little blessing he can get right now. He feels himself settle as he’s led into a larger room off to the side and onto the softest couch he thinks he’s ever been on. He’s barely awake when he feels someone gently lift his head to put a pillow underneath.

\------

Tubbo wakes up to the sound of soft voices around him, and he peeks one eye open, trying to avoid looking like he’s actually awake. He sees the blurry image of a man wearing a familiar, tacky, all-pastel outfit, and a smaller woman with blonde hair and a royal blue uniform, standing a few feet away from him, deep in conversation. He opens his eyes the rest of the way.

“Hello!” Karl whisper-yells.

“Good morning!” Niki says at the same time.

Tubbo shuffles around until he’s mostly sitting up, and stretches as his vision starts to clear. “Is it morning, actually?”

Niki pulls a small, golden watch out of a pocket and peers at it. “No. I think I just said that out of habit. It’s the middle of the afternoon. You’ve only been sleeping for… an hour.”

The three of them giggle a little before Tubbo scoots forward and stands up. The ground is farther away than he expected, and he wobbles a little before balancing.

“Was the throne comfy?” Karl asks.

“Wh-” Tubbo turns around. Sure enough, he had been nestled in Eret’s sprawling golden throne, an extra cushion tucked under where his head used to be. “Did I just take a nap in the king’s throne?”

“I mean, he put you there, yeah?” Karl offers with a shrug.

The events from earlier flash through Tubbo’s mind. He smiles slightly. “Yeah, he did.” He starts double-checking all of his supplies, and he rubs at some dirt smudged on his nicely painted shield. “Sapnap didn’t come back to bother you, right?”

“No!” Niki says, Karl saying “Eret had a talk with him!” simultaneously.

Tubbo gives him a look. “A talk?” he says, unconvinced.

“A talk,” Karl repeats, nodding his head solemnly. Tubbo catches movement out of the corner of his eye, and he sees Eret walk in, sword in hand and armor dirtied. He catches Tubbo’s eyes, flushes, and poorly hides the sword behind his back.

“Did you have a good talk, Eret?” Tubbo finally says, choking back a laugh.

“I think he’s learned to embrace the new additions you made to his house!” Eret calls as he walks down the hall to put his things away, coming back soon after, robe and crown back in place. “Come check this out!” he says, motioning for the other three to follow him up the stairs.

They reach the roof and Tubbo instantly sees where they’re going. A small, cloth overhang has been set up near the west side of the castle. Woolen cushions are piled in the shade beneath it, and unlit lanterns are hung from the wooden frame.

“I made it for us to watch the sunset!” Niki exclaims, grabbing Tubbo’s hand and leading him to sit down near the middle of the cushion pile. Eret and Karl follow suit, kicking off their shoes before settling down.

They sit in comfortable silence for a while, watching the clouds roll across the sky as the sun starts creeping lower and lower. Niki turns to face Tubbo.

“I hope you know we’re proud of you.”

“Yeah, that prank was awesome!” Karl chirps from Tubbo’s other side.

“Agreed.” Eret says with a nod.

“No! Not the prank!” Niki exclaims, “I mean you! You’re worth being proud of. You’ve just fought a war, you’re smart, you take care of our animals...” Niki trails off, point made.

“I- I’m not good with compli-” Tubbo says. He feels his face get warm.

“You really are a good kid, Tubbs.” Karl. “I’m glad I get to know you.”

Tubbo feels a hand ruffle his hair. “Proud of you.” Eret says simply, sincerity filling his voice.

“Even if we’re technically enemies?” Tubbo offers lightly.

“Even if we’re technically enemies.” Eret echoes with a small laugh.

The silence falls over the four of them once again, and they all start to lay back and settle into the cushion fort, Tubbo tucking himself between Eret and Niki while Karl stands up to light the lanterns before the sun disappears below the horizon.

“Thank you.” Tubbo whispers once he can see the stars creeping over the hills, trying not to wake up the others.

“Of course.” He hears Eret whisper back before he feels his eyelids get heavy, and he falls asleep feeling safer than he’s felt in months. 

\------

The warmth from the sun pulls Tubbo from his sleep, and he sits up with a yawn, taking in his surroundings. Niki is curled up asleep to his right, Karl not faring much better on his left. Karl snores a little bit. Tubbo thinks he’ll remember that for later. Blackmail, maybe.

But said blackmail is forgotten in lieu of realizing Eret’s absence, and Tubbo does his best to silently climb out of the cushion pile before getting to his feet. He doesn’t have to wander around the castle roof long before he spots Eret, sitting on the edge of the northern wall, staring past the castle gates towards the water below. Tubbo wordlessly sits next to him. 

He hears Eret take a deep breath and let out an equally deep sigh from beside him. “Why?” Eret asks.

“Why what?” Tubbo says, but he thinks he might know.

“Why are you here? I don’t really think I still deserve your company, Tubbo.” Eret huffs.

Tubbo stares at him in shock. “What? Eret, you’re basically like my brother. Why wouldn’t I be here?”

Eret lets out a joyless laugh. “Some fuckin’ brother I am, huh? Betray you for a crown that practically means nothing. I can’t believe you don’t hate me like the others.” He pauses. “You probably do, actually.”

“Don’t put words in my mouth, Eret!” Tubbo hisses, and Eret shocks out of his stupor to look at him. His sunglasses are resting on top of his head, and his glowing eyes are wide, tears budding at the corners. Tubbo feels tears form in his own. “I understand, really, I do.”

“Sure.” Eret says, obviously unconvinced.

“No, I do. I think I do.” Tubbo thinks for a long moment. “Had he come to me, I might have accepted. It was so rough for us there, the idea of being king sounds pretty good, y’know?” Tubbo says with a slight tilt of his head. 

Eret looks away. “I asked them to spare you.” He says softly.

“You- What?”

“I asked them to let you live. Didn’t work, obviously.” He says, turning back to face Tubbo. “Unfortunate for them, I think.” A smile grows on his face. “I’m a lot better at making friends than they are. I’ll always regret what I did, sure, but not more than they’ll regret ever getting me caught up in their bullshit.”

Tubbo barks out an uncertain laugh. “Oh?”

“Killing you gave me a grudge I’ll never let go of. I don’t know how, yet, but I’m going to make their lives miserable.” Tubbo swears his eyes are starting to glow even brighter. 

Tubbo gives him a genuine smile. “I don’t see why you ever thought I’d hate you, Eret. We really are just the same.” He stares forward into the water down below, watching the silhouettes of fish glide through the water. “I love me some good revenge.” He hops down off of the wall back onto the castle roof. “I should probably get back to L’Manberg before Wilbur, or, heaven forbid, Tommy, notices I’ve been gone.”

Eret hums a response. “Give me a moment, I’ll walk you back. Go down and get your things, yeah?” Tubbo nods before hustling to the nearest staircase.

“Scary kid,” Eret whispers to himself with a laugh. “Reminds me of myself.”

\------

They’ve been walking for barely five minutes before they hear the shouting.

“Get away from Tubbo, you bastard!” is all the warning they get before someone practically tackles Eret from his right, him barely managing to keep his balance. Tommy bounces back from his failed attempt, sword waving haphazardly in one hand as he continues to rant.

Eret cuts him off. “Hello, Tommy.” He gives him a wide smile. Tommy somehow fumes even more.

“What the fuck are you even doing? Leave him the fuck alone you traitorous prick!” Tommy spits out, finally steadying his sword to point it in Eret’s direction.

“Uh, I‘m walking him home?” Eret says before dramatically sighing. “You betray one budding nation and suddenly everyone hates yo-”.

Tommy starts to get back in his face before he’s pulled away slightly. “Chill the fuck out, Tommy!” Tubbo exclaims. “I can fend for myself, you know. If I was in real danger, I wouldn’t be calmly fucking walking with him now would I?”

Tommy is very clearly unhappy with that answer, but he takes a step back. “Why are you with him anyways?”

“He saved me from getting killed!” Tubbo exclaims with more cheer than necessary.

A pause and a deep breath from Tommy. “Wh- Who the FUCK tried to kill you?” Tommy is back to yelling now.

“Sapnap!”

Tubbo’s not even done saying the word before Tommy’s gone, storming his way down the path towards Sapnap’s property. Tubbo calls out a goodbye.

“He’s gonna start another war, isn’t he?” Eret asks as they resume walking.

“Oh, totally!” Tubbo says, “Free entertainment!”

They both laugh at that, and after a quick walk and an even quicker stop to check on Tubbo’s bees, they’ve arrived at the gates outside of L’Manberg. 

“Well,” Eret starts, “See you soon T-”, He’s cut off as the air is practically crushed out of his lungs as Tubbo grabs him in a hug with a strength he didn’t know Tubbo was capable of. He hugs him back with a weak laugh. “Thank you, Tubbo,” he wheezes out. Tubbo seems hesitant to let go, but relents when Eret gives a little cough from above him.

“Thank you, Eret.” Tubbo says before he’s gone, Eret left staring blankly at the gates, confused.

He feels a strong hand clap him on the shoulder before someone pushes in front of him and towards the gates. “Aww,” Wilbur calls back to him. “Adorable.” He turns around briefly. “Don’t push your luck ‘round here, Eret.” Wilbur adds with a smile before vanishing behind the dark stone walls. 

Eret doesn’t feel very threatened. He’d let himself die a thousand times over if it meant he still got to watch over his little brother.

**Author's Note:**

> title is from 'wild' by ultra q!
> 
> not enough wholesome fluff for these two. y'all are sleeping on their brotherly bond. 
> 
> btw if i see one person sh*pping these two on god i'm stealing their kneecaps and forcing them to eat them.


End file.
